Happy Thanksgiving!

We at A.J. Foyt Racing extend our best wishes to everyone for a very Happy Thanksgiving. As families and friends gather to celebrate this very American holiday, it is an opportunity to give thanks for all that we have and to show kindness and generosity to those less fortunate. If you are cooking the big bird at home or traveling to someone else’s home, we hope everyone has a safe holiday! Happy Thanksgiving y’all!

The Passion of Racing

By Ryan Westman

The roar of the engine as it reverberates off of nearby city buildings, the art of passing as quick as a cobra’s strike, the patience, the persistence, the passion: this is racing. For as long as I can remember, I have been attending racing events around the globe. From Formula 1 to NASCAR, weekend warriors on the dirt track, short ovals in the corn fields of Indiana to F1 greats on the legendary, winding streets of Monaco, I have seen it all. These experiences have not just molded an interest in the sport but have also become the fabric of my life. Racing is my passion.

I grew up in Indiana, and the two hour car ride to Indianapolis was a pilgrimage my father and I made every year. Walking into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, gazing down the 5/8- mile straightaway out onto 300,000 race fans, brings peace to the soul; you realize you are not the only one with the “bug.” Then it happens. Seemingly, out of nowhere, and then gone again for another 40 seconds; the whole place becomes as silent as the early May-morning dew clinging to the infield grass. The howl, the roar, the scream. No adjective does it justice but trust me, it gives you goose bumps. It gets inside you and once it is inside you, you can’t shake it.

Those who don’t understand the allure of racing may just interpret the sport as cars going around in circles. You don’t see what you don’t understand. Non-believers in the sport don’t see the meticulous engineering it takes to trim out the car and generate the down force to run at 230 mph. Did you know that an IndyCar generates enough down force or reverse lift that it could drive upside down at 150 mph? Maybe it’s that they don’t see the fuel conservation and intricate strategy required to win the race. Or perhaps they are unbeknownst to the team aspect and how even a minor mishap on a pit stop can cost a team its chances at victory. Perhaps, if they appreciated the danger every driver assumes when he gets inside the car, knowing that the Speedway has claimed 15 lives. Perhaps, if they were cognizant of the grueling, physical toll that the 2.5-hour race takes on a driver, who stands to lose an average of 5 pounds each race. I once asked Ironman and 10- time Indy 500 participant, Vitor Meira, “what is more difficult: an Ironman or the Indy 500?” Definitive in his answer, he responded, “the 500!”

Chris Economaki, Renowned Motorsports Journalist, Dies at Age 91

Friday, September 28, 2012--Chris Economaki, Dean of Motorsports Journalism, died early this morning at age 91. Economaki was known for his distinctive voice and incisive analysis as both a columnist for National Speed Sport News (a paper he worked for as a teenager and eventually bought) and as a broadcaster working for ABC, CBS, ESPN and TBS. He watched and chronicled the careers of most of our racing heroes including that of A.J. Foyt whose comments are below.

“Chris Economaki meant a whole lot to my career. He saw me when I first started and he said I’d be the next one coming up who’d be a good race driver. He wrote, You will read about this boy. I don’t remember if it was Ted Horn or who, but he compared me a couple times to these old greats which I felt very honored. I think he respected me and I respected him. He was a good friend. I really enjoyed his stories and it’s a shame to see good writers like him pass on.

To be honest, Chris was writing when racing was at its very best. I’m talking about midgets, sprints, dirt cars and Indy cars. He saw the sport grow to where it is today and how it grew, including NASCAR. And he contributed to that growth. I’d say when he was in his heyday of writing that more people would read his column than any column that’s been written today by far—I know I did. And I’m not the only person who says that. He really knew what he was writing about and he understood the sport in every field of it because he came through all the different types of racing. Today’s writers haven’t done that and they don’t understand racing like Chris did.

Sometimes you didn’t agree with all his articles, but one thing about it, you might not agree today when he wrote it but in the next two or three weeks what he said happened, so you have to give him credit.”

IndyCar Announces 2013 Schedule and $1 Million Triple Crown

The expanded schedule includes the return of Indy car racing to Pocono Raceway and the streets of Houston.

With a 400-mile race at Pocono Raceway joining the 500-mile events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway on the schedule, the IZOD IndyCar Series will institute a Triple Crown award, which will pay a $1 million bonus to a driver that wins on all three ovals. A driver that wins two of the three races will be awarded a $250,000 bonus.

Also new for 2013 are Saturday-Sunday doubleheaders scheduled for the street courses at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park, Toronto and Houston and the implementation of standing starts at those three venues.

Fourteen of the 15 venues that hosted IZOD IndyCar Series races in 2012 return. Six races – Indianapolis, the doubleheader at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park, the prime-time event at Texas Motor Speedway as well as Iowa and Pocono – will be broadcast on ABC. The balance of the schedule, including the season opener at St. Petersburg and the finale at Auto Club Speedway, will be carried on NBC Sports Network. Race distances and broadcast times will be announced at a later date.

Conway Steps Down and Cunningham Steps Up for IndyCar Season Finale

FONTANA, Calif. September 13, 2012—AJ Foyt Racing announced today that Wade Cunningham will replace Mike Conway in the No. 14 ABC Supply Honda for the MAVTV 500 IndyCar race this weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

The decision to hire Cunningham was reached after Conway asked to sit out this weekend’s event.

“I’m truly sorry for putting the team and our sponsors in a difficult position, but this is the hardest decision I have ever made in my racing career,” said Conway. “I’ve come to realize I’m not comfortable on the ovals and no longer wish to compete on them. I want to stress that I am not finished racing and to this end, I would love to continue with Foyt Racing, but that’s something we need to discuss in the future.”

After talking with Conway, Team Director Larry Foyt contacted Cunningham, who lives in Indianapolis, and asked him to drive this weekend. Cunningham had driven for the team in the No. 41 ECAT/ABC Supply Honda in the Indianapolis 500 this year. He arrives today to be fitted in the car.

“Fortunately, Wade was available to drive for us, and we’re looking forward to working with him again,” said Foyt, adding, “Mike’s been a great asset to our team, and I’m disappointed that we can’t finish out the season together. However, it took a lot of courage for Mike to come forward and we respect him highly for that and we certainly want to honor his decision.”

Cunningham will be making his fifth start in the IZOD IndyCar Series, having competed in three races in 2011 in addition to racing at Indy this year. However, it won’t be his first visit to the Southern California superspeedway. In 2005, he competed at the track in the Firestone Indy Lights Series where he started fifth and won the race, his first of eight victories in that series.

Practice gets underway Friday morning with qualifying for the 500-miler set for Friday afternoon. Final practice will take place Friday evening. The IndyCar Series season finale will be broadcast live Saturday night on the NBC Sports Network with coverage starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.